The state Fair Political Practices Commission has fined San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Lovingood $6,000 for failing to properly report various sources of income over a 4-year period.

According to a stipulation published on the commission’s website, Lovingood, of Apple Valley, agreed to pay the fine in connection with four violations of the Political Reform Act – all for failing to timely disclose sources of income on statement of economic interest forms, also known as Form 700s. Lovingood was fined $1,500 for each violation, according to the document published on the FPPC website. The commission is scheduled to ratify the action at its March 16 meeting.

Elected officials and public employees who make or influence government decisions are required to report their sources of income, assets and other financial interests on the forms, which are public record.

Lovingood, elected First District county supervisor in November 2012 and who in December assumed the role as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, failed to report to the state various sources of income of more than $10,000 for the years 2012 through 2015.

Among the public entities from which Lovingood received more than $10,000 in income over the stated time period but failed to report include the Lucerne Valley Unified School District, the cities of Victorville and Hesperia, the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority, the Mojave Water Agency, and the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, according to the FPPC.

Additionally, Lovingood, in his capacity as county supervisor, voted on at least 42 matters involving nine of his staffing clients. Those nine clients were the Town of Apple Valley, Calico Ghost Town, city of Hesperia, Lucerne Valley Unified School District, Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, Mojave Water Agency, Southwest Gas, Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority, and the city of Victorville.

“However, the (FPPC) Enforcement Division did not find Lovingood possessed a financial conflict of interest when voting on these matters,” the document states. “Lovingood asserts he sought advice from County Counsel prior to participating in any vote involving a staffing client to ensure compliance with the (Political Reform) Act.”

In a statement Monday, Lovingood said he agreed to pay the fine to resolve a disagreement he had with the FPPC on the matter.

“Our disagreement centered on the definition of the word “income.’” Lovingood said in his statement. “As a businessman I considered, and still do, income to mean the amount of money received by my company after paying direct expenses. As a result, my reading of the rules meant I do not report any client where the funds actually received by my company were less than $10,000.”

The FPPC, on the other hand, believes “income” means the total amount of money before expenses are deducted, Lovingood said in his statement.

“Therefore, they believe I should report any client where the total revenue received by the company is more than $10,000. Rather than continue fighting this legally, I decided to settle the case with the FPPC,” he said. “In the future, I will use the FPPC’s definition of ‘income’ when filing my Statement of Economic Interests.”

Lovingood chalked it all up to an “honest disagreement,” and noted that the FPPC was originally looking to impose a $20,000 fine against him.

“As stated by the FPPC, I attempted in good faith to comply with the Act, did not try and keep secret who my business clients were and that there were no votes the FPPC considered conflict of interests,” he said.

Joe Nelson is an award-winning investigative reporter who has worked for The Sun since November 1999. He started as a crime reporter and went on to cover a variety of beats including courts and the cities of Colton, Highland and Grand Terrace. He has covered San Bernardino County since 2009. Nelson is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. In 2014, he completed a fellowship at Loyola Law School's Journalist Law School program.

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